LONGVIEW, Texas – A strong fourth quarter performance by the Louisiana College Wildcats was too much to overcome for the LeTourneau University women's basketball team as they fell 73-67 at Solheim Arena on Saturday, January 19th. 

The loss drops LETU to 5-12 on the season and 2-7 in American Southwest Conference action while the Wildcats improve to 7-9 overall with a 4-5 standing in the ASC.

"I'm very proud of the girls for battling throughout and we had some different people step up today which I told them is what being on a team is all about" said head coach Cassi Rozanski in a post-game interview. "If we can become more consistent in each game with having girls step up together then we can definitely move forward as a team as we are getting better each and every day."

How it Happened:

• Points would be scarce through the opening 2:39 of play until four straight points from the Wildcats offense put an end to the drought. LC would hold their lead throughout the first quarter while the LETU offense would struggle and score only six points in the first ten minutes of play.
• Looking to overcome their first quarter troubles, the YellowJackets would come out hot by snagging the first four points of the second quarter and taking their first lead of the game at 20-19 with seven minutes remaining in the half.
• Three triples from junior guard Claudia Moonsammy in the second period would help the YellowJackets stay within in reaching distance, as LeTourneau would trail by a score of 33-30.
• A back-and-forth third quarter resulted in eight lead changes as the wildcats jumped ahead by four to start the half before the YellowJackets fought their way back once again to take a 45-42 lead on a Keauna Whitfield triple. The two teams would keep the battle going throughout the rest of the quarter as the score would be knotted at 52-52 heading to the fourth.
• The Wildcats offense stepped up their game when it mattered most, putting up an 11-0 run on the YellowJackets midway through the fourth quarter. Alexandria Thorne and Sha'Donnaver Young were quick to respond as they teamed up for seven consecutive points pulling their team within four at 65-51.
• With LeTourneau trailing 69-64 with 21 seconds left, Whitfield would pull LETU within two with a shot behind the arc to give the YellowJackets one last opportunity to complete another comeback.
• It would be the Wildcats however who would prevail by using a perfect four-of-four performance at the free throw line to seal the deal and take a six-point victory.

Key Stats:

• The YellowJacket offense shot a season-high 48.1 percent (26-of-54) from the field by connecting on 50 percent of their shots in the first quarter and nailing 10 of their 28 (35.7 percent) attempts beyond the three-point line.
• The Wildcats took advantage of their 19 forced turnovers, scoring 13 points off the opportunities. LETU only saw 12 points come from their 17 forced turnovers.
• A trio of LeTourneau players would find themselves in double digits as Thorne led all scorers with 21 points followed by Young with 19 and Whitfield scoring 12.

What's Next?
LeTourneau will head back out on the road next week for a 5:30 pm matchup at the University of Ozarks on Thursday, January 24th. The Eagles will enter Thursday's contest coming off a loss against conference foe Texas Dallas, dropping them to 9-8 overall and 6-3 in ASC action.